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Ashland County committee approves midlevel HHS position for children's long-term support program
Summary
Ashland County's Executive Committee approved a midlevel management position for the Health and Human Services department's Children's Long-Term Support program on July 15 to handle eligibility, authorizations and a small caseload.
Ashland County's Executive Committee approved a midlevel management position for the Health and Human Services (HHS) department's Children's Long-Term Support (CLTS) program during its July 15 meeting. The committee voted to authorize filling the position after the department said the role is necessary to keep up with caseload growth and avoid state sanctions.
The position would be placed in the CLTS program, which HHS staff described as an entitlement: when children are found eligible the county must enroll them. The department head told the committee that the new hire would perform eligibility and functional determinations, authorize recommended services and equipment, and carry a small caseload of about 10 youths. The department explained that if children are not enrolled within 45 days of eligibility ‘‘there are sanctions that the state puts upon us financially,’’ creating urgency to increase administrative capacity.
HHS told the committee the position is funded through a combination of billable case-management revenue and Medicaid administrative reconciliation. The department said the administrative portion is captured through Wisconsin'specific Medicaid cost reconciliation (referred to in the meeting as WIMCR), and that while reimbursements lag, the position would be budget-neutral to the county. County Administrator Dan Grady confirmed there is a lag in receiving reimbursement but said the county knows how to budget for it.
Committee members asked for details about supervision and how the role fits the wage scale. HHS staff said the role will provide program oversight and input into employee performance reviews but will not be a standalone supervisor position; final performance evaluations would remain with the existing supervisor, Tasha, who currently carries multiple program responsibilities. The county administrator and committee members discussed that the hire would relieve workload from Tasha, who also serves as the regional ADRC (Aging and Disability Resource Center) supervisor and spends about half her time on that regional contract.
Pat Kinney moved to approve the position; Laurie Beatek seconded the motion. The committee voted aye and carried the motion.
Discussion points: the department estimated roughly 10 children on the new position's caseload; the role was described as fully funded through third-party case-management billing and a Medicaid administrative reconciliation process; the committee heard there is a lag between expenditures and state reconciliation payments. The department and administrator said the HHS committee had previously reviewed and endorsed the request.
The committee directed staff to proceed with hiring under the enumerated funding approach. No timeline for posting or start date was recorded in the meeting minutes presented at the session.
Ending: The approved position will be posted and recruited; HHS and the administrator will monitor reimbursement timing and report budget impacts back to the finance committee as requested.
